26,317 enterprises imported goods from the UK in 2016, 85% of the total number of importing firms. For approximately 10,500 of these importers the UK was their only trading partner and their trade was about 20% of total UK imports.
The number of exporters from Ireland is lower than importers. Approximately 8,600 enterprises exported goods from Ireland in 2016 and 79% of these exported to the UK. Of the 6,780 firms who exported to the UK, half traded exclusively with the UK, accounting for 16% of the value of exports to the UK.
| Share of importers | |
| Partial UK trade | 51 |
| UK trade only | 34 |
| No UK trade | 15 |
| Share of exporters | |
| Partial UK trade | 40 |
| UK trade only | 39 |
| No UK trade | 21 |
Ireland imported €20.5 billion of goods from the UK in 2016 based on country of consignment. The Retail/Wholesale sector was the largest importing sector, accounting for €12.1 billion (59%) of the total. SME’s (small and medium sized enterprises) imported two-thirds of the total value of UK imports.
Ireland exported €14.8 billion of goods to the UK in 2016. The Agri-Food sector was the biggest exporting sector, with exports of €3.5 billion to the UK in the year. SME’s accounted for 60% of Ireland’s UK exports.
This is a new publication from the Central Statistics Office which analyses goods exports and imports with the UK in terms of the activity and size of the enterprises trading. This publication describes who is trading with the UK rather than what is being traded.
The Trade by Enterprise Characteristics data (TEC data) published here covers enterprises with annual imports or exports of more than €5,000. Enterprises are classified by economic sector and employment size with information on value and number of enterprises provided for each category. The value of UK imports differs from our monthly publication as the data is based on country of consignment, rather than country of origin. This difference is quantified and explained in the publication.
The statistics have used a new data source (Recapitulative VAT statements) for determining the trading partner country of small traders. It should be noted that this methodology is still under development and may be modified for future publications.
CSO statistical release, , 11am
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